(LOT 312)
Extremely Rare 1948 Leaf Baseball 5-Cent Wax Pack w/6 Cards from the Highly Coveted "Short-PRINT" Series (PSA 8 NM-MT) – PSA "POP 1"; Possible HOF Short Prints incl. Satchel Paige, Bob Feller, Hal Newhouser, George Kell, Enos Slaughter & Larry Doby
In 1948, with America now three years removed from a momentous World War, the Chicago. IL. based Leaf Gum Co. released their landmark 98-card set (101 cards including three variations) with each card measuring approximately 2-3/8" by 2-7/8". Colorful images graced the obverse side while the flipside's included vital player statistics and brief "bios" affixed on a light gray surface. This was an exciting time for America's youth, especially considering that aside from the rather "drab" 1948 Bowman black & white sports cards released in the same year, aspiring young baseball fans had not been offered the opportunity for quite some time to storm their local candy stores to purchase baseball card packs in search of capturing their diamond heroes. Aside from the '48 Bowman gatherings, the country's focus on WWII had literally put the "clamps" on gum companies releasing any mainstream baseball card sets, and while President Roosevelt advocated for our National Pastime to continue playing games throughout the war, finding related cardboard subjects became an excruciating endeavor.

It is therefore no secret that the emergence of the 1948 Leaf set sparked an unparalleled enthusiasm for America's youths, with the Leaf Co. releasing a 168-card checklist including many of the game's prominent stars such as Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige and Stan Musial rookies, "Joltin' Joe" DiMaggio, Ted Williams and retired Hall of Fame immortals Babe Ruth and Honus Wagner. While the checklist's final card was numbered 168, as previously mentioned, only 98 basic subjects appeared in the set due to the gum company utilizing a "skip-numbering" methodology for their inaugural compilation. Of special interest is the undisputed scarcity of 49 "Short-Print" subjects, with these seldom surfacing keepsakes highly coveted by the collecting community. That said, presented here just happens to be one of the most extraordinary unopened baseball wax packs on the planet, an actual 1948 Leaf Gum Co. SHORT-PRINT SERIES pack encapsulated in a PSA 8 NM-MT holder. Incredibly, it stands as the undisputed SOLE PSA 1948 Leaf wax pack extant! This miraculous wax pack contains six 1948 Leaf Short-Print (SP) baseball cards, with the possibility of the pack including the following SP Hall of Famers: (8) Satchel Paige/Rookie; (93) Bob Feller; (98) Hal Newhouser/Rookie; (120) George Kell/Rookie; (127) Enos Slaughter and the first African American American League ballplayer, Larry Doby (138/Rookie).

As hobbyists surely realize, most significant is the possibility of the pack including the iconic #8 Satchel Paige that resides as one of the most desirable and valuable Hall of Fame rookie cards on the planet. Its short-print series pedigree is substantiated by the fact that it is the "sister-pack" of the other short-print '48 Leaf pack previously sold in Memory Lane's March 2021 Auction. These two packs were the "leftover" unopened packs from the historical 1980s Al Rosen '48 Leaf short-print series wax box find, with this unearthed wax box sold to an advanced collector who ultimately chose to open up a majority of the packs. This museum worthy offering truly stands as one of the handful of packs that fortunately remained unopened, still existing in its original sealed wax wrapper and now residing in a PSA 8 NM-MT holder. The visual appeal obviously merits the extremely high "NM-MT 8" assessment, with the abundance of classic red & blue hued stars and "ALL STAR BASEBALL BUBBLE GUM" text retaining a majority of their original vibrant color. The final exclamation points are the relatively clean wax surfaces, tightly wrapped corners, and the verso's glue seal being completely intact. It is simply incomprehensible that this esteemed keepsake has managed to survive the past 74 years in its unopened state, stubbornly defying father-time.

Indeed, one look at this Cooperstown worthy marvel truly conjures up vivid memories from baseball's quintessential "Golden-Age", when the likes of Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Satchel Paige, Stan Musial, Roberto Clemente, Mickey Mantle and so many more of our National Pastime's greatest heroes ruled the diamond. A captivating museum worthy masterpiece to say the least, its undisputed rarity cannot be overemphasized for it may be quite some time before another short-print series unopened pack surfaces for the taking that includes six 1948 Leaf Gum cards and a possible Satchel Paige! For informational purposes, the following list includes the 49 "Short Prints" existing on the 1948 Leaf Baseball Card Checklist with all Hall of Famers and rookie cards duly noted: (5) Virgil Trucks/R; (8) Satchel Paige/HOF/R; (13) Casimer Michaels; (19) John Wyrostek; (20) Hank Sauer/R; (30) Billy Goodman/R; (33) Harry Lowrey; (36) Al Zarilla; (43) Eddie Stevens; (45) Ken Keltner; (48) Johnny Schmitz; (51) Alvin Dark/R; (54) Bobby Adams; (55) Tommy Henrich; (62) Eddie Joost; (63) Barney McCosky; (66) Orval Grove; (68) Ed Miller; (75) Dom DiMaggio; (78) Walter Evans; (81) George Kurowski; (85) Dave Philley/R; (88) Frank Gustine; (93) Bob Feller/HOF; (98) Hal Newhouser/HOF/R; (104) Edward Stewart; (108) Matthew Batts; (113) Emil Leonard; (120) George Kell/HOF/R; (121) Johnny Pesky/R; (123) Clifford Fannin; (127) Enos Slaughter/HOF; (129) Kirby Higbe; (131) Sid Gordon; (133) Tommy Holmes; (137) Harry Walker; (138) Larry Doby/HOF/R; (142) Danny Murtaugh/R; (143) Dick Sisler; (144) Bob Dillinger; (146) Pete Reiser (149) Henry Majeski; (153) Floyd Baker; (158) Harry Brecheen/R; (160) Bob Scheffing; (161) Vern Stephens/R; (163) Fred Hutchinson/R; (165) Dale Mitchell/R; (168) Phil Cavarretta. (*) It should be noted that Steve Hart, the hobby's foremost authenticator of unopened wax (packs & boxes), has extensively reviewed this '48 Leaf Short-Print wax pack and confirmed its unopened status.

MIN BID $25,000
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